The present invention relates generally to an attachment comb for use with a hair clipper, and more particularly to such an attachment comb that includes multiple teeth, the bottom edges of which are curved and include a widened rib to better distribute the forces used to guide the clipper, which increases the comfort of the hair cutting subject. In addition, the multiple teeth of the attachment comb of the present invention are preferably flared to facilitate the alignment and feeding of the hair, particularly long hair, to the cutting blades of the hair clipper.
In general, most attachment combs presently available include a set of teeth that extend away from the blade area of the hair clipper. These teeth are designed to contact the skin of the head (or other area being cut) to maintain the cutting blades at a relatively fixed distance from the skin, so that the hair may be cut to a uniform length. The bottom edges of the attachment comb are generally pushed along the surface of the scalp, and the teeth guide the hair towards the cutting blades of the clipper. Different attachment combs that maintain the blades at different fixed distances from the skin may be used to cut the hair to different lengths.
Typically, the lower peripheral surfaces of the teeth that contact the skin of the area being clipped are narrow and substantially straight. Thus, only a small area of the straight tooth surface contacts the curved surface of the head of the person whose hair is being clipped. Accordingly, the force used to guide the clipper along the person's head is concentrated at a few relatively small pressure points, which can lead to discomfort for the person whose hair is being clipped.
The mismatch between the relatively straight surface of the teeth and the curved surface of the head of the person receiving a haircut can also make it more difficult to trim the hair to a single uniform length. When the straight tooth surface is placed against the curved head surface, there is a tendency for the hair clipper assembly (which includes a hair clipper and an attachment comb) to be pivoted or "rocked" about the point of contact. This rocking motion varies the spacing of the cutting blades to the head, possibly resulting in the hair being trimmed to several different lengths.
An additional problem with most commonly available attachment combs is that they do not provide a method of adequately cutting hair to relatively long lengths of greater than about one inch. Cutting hair to relatively long lengths requires that the comb adequately lift and support these long lengths of hair. Longer hair also has more of a tendency to be orientated in numerous different directions, and aligning these long strands of hair has been a problem with earlier comb designs. Due to the problems associated with cutting hair to relatively long lengths, most currently available attachment combs are designed to cut the hair to lengths much shorter than one inch, normally in the range of one half to one quarter inch. As effective attachment combs suitable for cutting hair to relatively long lengths are not generally available, cutting the hair to lengths of one inch or greater normally requires either the use of a pair of scissors or the use of a hair clipper and a comb in combination (where the comb is used to lift the hair away from the scalp). When using either of these two methods, it is difficult for persons not professionally trained as barbers or stylists to cut the hair to a uniform length.
Besides the difficulties encountered when attempting to cut hair to a relatively long uniform length, many currently available attachment combs also have difficulty adequately feeding longer hair towards the cutting area of the hair clipper. Also, with many of the currently available attachment combs, there is a relatively high level of resistance encountered by the leading portions of the teeth when the comb is inserted into a patch of hair.
Thus, in view of the problems discussed above, one object of the present invention is to provide an improved attachment comb for use with a hair clipper that is capable of providing more comfort to the person whose hair is being clipped.
An additional object of the present invention is to provide an improved attachment comb with teeth that have a lower peripheral surface that is curved in such a manner as to correspond to the head of the person whose hair is being trimmed, and wherein a more comfortable haircut can be achieved.
A related object of the present invention is to provide an improved attachment comb that is more comfortable for the person whose hair is being trimmed due to the addition of a widened rib on the lower peripheral surface of some, or all, of the teeth.
Another object of the, present invention is to provide an improved attachment comb that enables the hair to be easily cut to a uniform length by reducing the possibility that the hair clipper assembly may be "rocked," which results in the hair being cut to dissimilar lengths.
Yet another object of the present invention is to supply an improved attachment comb with particularly shaped teeth that enable hair to be trimmed to relatively long lengths of one inch or greater.
Still another object of the present invention is to supply an improved attachment comb that facilitates the cutting of longer hair by providing teeth that are flared out from an area near the cutting blades, which helps to better align and guide the hair towards the cutting blades.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved attachment comb in which at least some of the teeth are configured with a surface of reduced radius (i.e. an undercut) to minimize the level of resistance encountered by the leading edges of the teeth when the comb is inserted into a patch of hair.
These and other objects of the present invention are discussed or will be apparent from the following detailed description of the present invention.